Sponsor Spotlight: University of Ottawa
Posted by Karen in 
Every conference needs a venue conducive to sharing. The University of Ottawa has provided that venue for Social Capital this year. Nichole McGill wrote in to tell us a little bit about how uOttawa uses social media.
Please tell us a bit about your organization and what you do.
From our website: “The University of Ottawa has been Canada’s university since 1848. Located in the heart of the nation’s capital, the University has emerged as a vibrant “centre of learning”, with a total population including students, teaching and support staff of 40,000. The largest bilingual university in North America, the University is a major player in the cultural and economic development of the National Capital Region.”
I am the Web Communications Director within the Communications Directorate at the University. I set the strategic vision for the University Web and digital presence in concert with my colleagues within the University Web community.
How is your company involved in social media? What do you feel is the importance of social media in business?
It is imperative that the University of Ottawa have a presence in the social media space. This is where many of our major stakeholders are whether they are students, alumni, potential students or potential partners, in Canada or in the world. If you want to meaningfully engage with your stakeholders, as an organization, you need to be present in this space. It is not an option.
The University has had a presence on key social media channels since 2006. For example, we have an educational account on YouTube, which allows us to upload videos of classes, interviews and graduation ceremonies without a limit to video length and without the intrusion of ads.
We’ve focused in earnest on the governance behind social media tools by creating working groups, establishing best practices and policies and hiring staff whose primary or secondary focus is on social media strategy creation and management.
In general, we at the University have found that:
- Social media has to become part of your business.
- It is more efficient to leverage existing services and positions instead of creating new services
- One should always make sure to capture and analyze statistics.
- Pilot projects are the best ways to test the waters.
